Chuck Hagel on the Senate firing line

Chuck Hagel came under rapid fire from former Senate colleagues at day-long confirmation hearings as secretary of defense on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He clashed with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a former friend and Vietnam veteran, when he refused to give him a direct answer on whether the Iraq war surge succeeded. He apologized for using the term “Jewish lobby” in a rambling answer to a question from Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and stumbled in his answers on Iran.

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McCain to Hagel: Answer the question

Hagel: I'm not defined by single vote, quote

Republican opposition to Hagel’s nomination was growing after the eight-hour hearing (which included breaks), but Democrats still seem to back the former Nebraska senator and Hagel continues to stand a good chance of winning confirmation.

The committee could vote on the nomination as early as next Thursday, Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced he would oppose Hagel’s nomination after viewing his morning testimony.

“I’ve stated long ago I’ve been deeply disturbed by his previous comments and positions in regards to sanctions on Iran and in regards to direct negotiations with North Korea,” Rubio told Fox News during Hagel’s testimony. "Obviously, statements he’s made about Israel…I just don’t believe I will be able to support his nomination especially after his testimony in the last hour here, he’s really not said anything that addresses those concerns to my satisfaction.”

And House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said that he now wants President Barack Obama to nominate someone else.

“When President Obama nominated Senator Hagel to serve as Secretary of Defense, I was open — with reservations – to the possibility that Mr. Hagel possessed both the qualifications and abilities to meet the lofty demands of office,” McKeon said in a statement Thursday. “Unfortunately, in confusing and contradictory testimony, he created more concerns than he allayed.”

During the afternoon of a bruising session, Hagel fielded questions from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in which he said he should have edited many of his past remarks.

Lee asked Hagel whether he stood by comments that Israel “keep[s] Palestinians caged up like animals.”

“If I had an opportunity to edit that, like many things I’ve said, I would like to go back and change the words and the meaning… I regret having used those words,” Hagel said.

And in the first conciliatory note of what has been a tough hearing for Hagel, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin — who has endorsed Hagel — conceded senators have “been a little bit rough on him, just a little bit rough,” Manchin said.

“I feel like I want to apologize for some of the tone and demeanor today,” Manchin said.

“You’re holding up well,” added Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

The tensest exchange came this morning when McCain, a defense hawk and outspoken supporter of the Iraq war, grew irate when Hagel wouldn’t say whether he believed the 2007 troop surge in Iraq helped stabilize that country.

McCain demanded that Hagel answer the question, which the nominee refused to do.

“Are you going to answer the question?” McCain said, cutting off Hagel. “Let the record show that you refused to answer the question.”

“I’m not going to give you a yes or no,” said Hagel. “I’ll defer that judgment to history.”

“History has already made a judgment on the surge, and you’re on the wrong side of it,” McCain said later, warning he might oppose Hagel because of his refusal to give him a direct response.

Asked about his previous comments criticizing the surge, including calling the troop increase in Iraq the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam, Hagel said: “I stand by them because I made them.”